On Monday, October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy pummeled the East Coast with winds of 80 miles per hour. Officials have indicated that this storm may be one of the most damaging hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. with an estimated 60 million people affected in many states including Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The National Weather Service issued a statement prior to the storm reminding people that Hurricane Sandy would likely cause major property damage. That was because serious property damages – both residential and commercial property damages – occur from high winds and storm surge flooding.
Many coastal cities along the East Coast are still recovering from the Atlantic Ocean’s rising waters. The storm first slammed into the Jersey coastline on Monday at 8:00 p.m. causing significant flooding in Atlantic, Cape May, and Ocean counties and hurling a 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City.
Although Hurricane Sandy came ashore as a Category 1, weather experts say the storm lost its hurricane status; however, super storm Sandy was still a very dangerous storm – causing much damage and destruction.
As damage assessments are underway, it appears that New Jersey and New York may be the worst states hit from the tidal surge, waves, and floods that this super storm brought. The storm impacted 2.4 million households in New Jersey alone, twice the number of homes that lost power in last year’s Hurricane Irene. In fact, the President declared a major disaster area in New Jersey, New York, and Long Island. New York may have had the hardest financial hit as the financial heart in Lower Manhattan was closed for two days.
While New Jersey, New York, and many other areas ordered evacuations of people in low-lying communities, ceased subway and other transportation operations, and closed schools to help people stay safe; many homes, condo complexes, apartment buildings, office complexes, stores, and even schools suffered damages in this strong storm.
